


Rise Again

by happyhyppy (orphan_account)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Character Death, F/M, I'm Sorry, Interracial Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 15:18:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2626490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/happyhyppy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Arthur will rise again."<br/>There was a time when Guinevere, too, believed this to be true. However, months after Arthur's untimely demise, Gwen begins wondering if she'll ever meet her knight in shining armor once more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rise Again

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story. Just in case, this does contain spoilers for the BBC series Merlin. Assuming you've seen it, you know how the story ends, and therefore the warnings are relevant to the scenes in the last episode - so please take them into consideration. Now, with that out of the way, I really hope you enjoy!

**Rise Again**

"I love you, Guinevere," He said as he held her hand. She would never get used to the way his skin felt against hers. His hands soft and pale, and hers shaking and the color of rich copper. How could he love a servant such as herself? She would never dispute it, but the thought always settled in the back of her mind.

"I love you too, Arthur, with all my heart."Those words would never change. They would never lose their meaning, or dim in importance. She would love Arthur will all of her heart, and that would remain constant. Upon inconstant and ever-changing situations, through the void of death, she would always love him.

* * *

_"Lady Guinevere..."_

Silence.

_"My Queen, Guinevere..."_

Silence.

"Gwen!"

She awoke with a slight jump, nearly falling out of her bed. She let out a yelp, to which the stranger in her room responded to by stumbling backwards. As her eyes adjusted to the light of day, she began to realize that it was no stranger at all. It was Merlin. She smiled and waved him inside, and he slowly walked in with two hands on a large tray.

"Just thought I'd bring you some breakfast." He awkwardly smiled, sat down the tray, and began leaving the room to get back to whatever he was previously occupied with. 

"Wait, Merlin!" She spoke before she could process exactly what she wanted him for. 

"Yes, Your Majesty?" He asked, slowly turning around on his heels to face her. 

"Gwen." She corrected.

"Yes, Gwen?" He asked. She simply sat in silence for a while, but Merlin did not budge. She touched the ring on her finger, turning it around a few times. Merlin noticed her eyes begin to glaze over, and therefore he sat down on the bed with her, wrapping one arm around her shaking frame. She let a sob slip out, which was followed by an outburst. For some reason, she couldn't control herself any longer. It had been five months since he passed, and she had never asked Merlin for the gruesome details. Tonight, however, she needed to know. She hated sitting around clueless, completely oblivious in regards to how he departed.

"Merlin, you're my friend, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then I need you to tell me."

He choked on his words. "T- tell you what, exactly?" 

For that moment she stopped crying and looked him straight in the eyes, with every bit of fierceness she acquired from being the queen. "Don't play games with me, Merlin. He was... he  _is_ my husband, and I have a right to know exactly what happened."

"Please, Your Majesty-"

" _Gwen."_ She seethed through her teeth.

"Please Gwen, that night... I... I'd really rather not recount it." He said, and with that he got up at once, and headed to leave. Gwen understood that it must have been hard on Merlin, but he had no clue just how hard it is on her as well.

"Merlin, stop!" She shouted loud enough that the entire castle could probably hear her. "I'm sorry you had to be there to witness it, but I didn't get to. I didn't get to say goodbye to the love of my life. I didn't get to hold his hand, and I didn't get to see him leave me forever. I know it's hard on you, but please, try to understand that it's hard on me too. I _loved_  him. I still love him. I... I need to know, Merlin, please." She was crying by now, and Merlin was beginning to as well.

Merlin breathed out a shaky breath. "You're right." He said, and he let the night come back to him.

* * *

_"Just... just hold me, please." Arthur's voice was strained and raspy as Merlin fell backwards with a stabbed Arthur in his arms. He thought about the sword going into Arthur's skin, piercing through him. The gash was deep, and each time Merlin put his hand over it, it wound up covered in blood. He hated the feeling of it against the cold metal of Arthur's chainmail.  Merlin was breathing hard due to all the effort made to get Arthur back to safety. Both of them knew what would be inevitable by now, but Merlin still had the urge to fight for his best friend._

_"There's something I want to say," Arthur said, but his eyes weren't looking at Merlin anymore. They were looking up into the sky, staring at nothing but the clouds above the two of them._

_"You're not going to say goodbye."_

_"No," Arthur countered. "Everything you've done... I know now. For me, for Camelot, for the kingdom you helped me build."_

_"You could've done it without me." Merlin insisted, simply trying to let Arthur know just how much he means to everybody._

_"Maybe," He shrugged off Merlin's comment. Arthur's eyes began dimming, the blue light that had once shone brightly were now going out. His skin was beginning to fade into a dim grey, and with each passing second, he grew colder in his arms. "I want to say... something I've never said to you before." With the strength he could muster up, Arthur turned his head to look directly into Merlin's eyes._

_"Thank you."_

* * *

 "That was the last thing he said to me. After that..." Merlin didn't finish his sentence, he didn't need to. He could tell by the tears streaming down Guinevere's face that she understood what came next. 

"Thank you, Merlin." She said, and simply saying those words stung in her throat. Knowing that Arthur's last words were 'thank you' was like a shot of poison. Merlin didn't speak as he got up to leave, there was nothing left to say. However he hated leaving Gwen in such a state, one of complete despair. 

"Gwen?" He called out. 

She turned around and cleared her throat. "Yes?"

"He really loved you, you know? He talked about you all the time, even before you two were married. He always said that he knew the people wouldn't agree, but he never cared. He did everything for you, Gwen." With that, Merlin left Guinevere to her thoughts, which were now plagued with images of Arthur lying in the grass with Merlin, pale as a ghost and sickly. She tried thinking about his touch on her skin, and how it left chills and shocks of electricity all at once. She thought about the way his lips felt against hers, and how each kiss was like a breath of fresh air. She thought about his smile, and how much he loved Camelot. How much they loved each other.

She sat back down on her bed and began twisting the ring once more. The metal was cold against her finger. This time, she was not overwhelmed by a heavy heart, unsure of what happened to her beloved. The pain still resonated deep within her, but she could relieve the dull pain of being unsure. She now thought of the picnic they had together, or the time he proposed to her for the first time. She sighed and spoke in a soft whisper, thinking of the man she felt proud to have been married to. 

_"With all my heart."_


End file.
